"Policemen Harpur and Iles get mixed up in the criminal world of fine art dealing"
Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur feels a sort of warmth towards Jack Lamb, a brilliantly prosperous but profoundly dodgy fine arts dealer. Lamb is the greatest informant Harpur has ever dealt with might be the greatest informant any police officer has ever dealt with and although Jack ended this arrangement some time ago, Harpur still feels indebted to him.
Lamb s posh manor house is stuffed with expensive paintings, ripe for the pinching . . . and small-time thief George Dinnick and his crew intend to relieve him of a few. But their plans are complicated by local big-time crook Ralph Ember, who is on the lookout for some art to elevate his gentleman s club, The Monty; and who else would he visit to procure this art but Jack Lamb? Add to the mix odd-job man and stolen-art procurer Basil Gordon Loam aka Enzyme who Harpur and Iles would very much like to see locked up, and things start to get complicated indeed."